CMG members are being asked to vote (online) in a national referendum June 1-8, 2022 to set a precise number of positions on the union’s National Executive Committee (NEC) into the CMG bylaws.

The vote would scale down the current committee by six positions, and set up criteria to ensure a stable and effective size for the future. The new changes would come into effect January 1, 2023.

Context

The Canadian Media Guild (CMG), at the national level, is led by a committee of elected members who serve three-year terms helping manage the affairs of the union.

This National Executive Committee (NEC) is composed of table officers, branch presidents from all 12 of the media organization with members the CMG represents, and several other elected directors.

Over time, this committee has grown to an unwieldy size – by December 2022, it may include more than 20 members, some of whom travel across the country for several meetings each year. Under the current bylaw structure, it is likely this committee will continue to expand beyond that number.

The difficulty of managing meetings, and the associated costs of time and travel, of a group this size, hinder the effectiveness of the union.

These changes, should they pass, will not affect local union committees or branch leadership committees. They apply only to the National Executive Committee.

Proposed bylaw changes

Members will be asked to consider changes to the CMG bylaws to bring the composition of the National Executive Committee from 19 to 13 members effective at the start of the next term on January 1, 2023.

The question to be answered:

Do you support the following changes to CMG Bylaws?

I vote to change the composition of the National Executive Committee, effective at the start of the next term on January 1, 2023, as follows:

• -Presidents of Small Branches (under 50 members) will not have a seat on the NEC
• -A Director of Small Branches will be elected from within and by the members of the Branches with under 50 members
• -The Secretary/Treasurer of the CBC Branch will no longer be a member of the NEC
• -The Vice-President of CP will no longer be a member of the NEC
• -The CBC Freelance Branch will become part of the CBC Branch

Members would answer “Yes” or “No” to the referendum question. A simple majority is required for the changes to pass. 

If the changes pass, the composition of the 13-member National Executive Committee as of January 1, 2023 would be as follows:

• -President
• -Vice-President
• -Secretary-Treasurer
• -CBC Branch President
• -CBC Branch Vice-President
• -Canadian Press Branch President
• -APTN Branch President
• -TVO Branch President
• -IPP President
• -Small Branch Director- This position represents all branches with fewer than 50 members – CKOF, TFO, AFP,  VICE,  ZoomerMedia, BuzzFeed, National Observer, Thomson Reuters
• -Director, Equity and Human Rights
• -Director, Francophone Issues
• -Director, Precarious Workers

Key dates

• -The online vote will be held over a five-day period, from June 1 to June 8, 2022
• -Four virtual Townhalls to answer any questions will be held:
  • -English Townhall – May 9, 2022 at noon and 7 p.m. ET
  • -French Townhall – May 12, 2022 at noon and 7 p.m. ET

For any questions about the referendum, write to: resolutions@cmg.ca with “Referendum” in the subject line.